The Fourth Circuit held that the Tax Injunction Act does not bar the owner of a power plant from challenging an excise tax on carbon dioxide emissions. A lower court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction under the Tax Injunction Act because the carbon charge was a tax. But of all the carbon dioxide...

The Seventh Circuit held that an environmental group has standing to challenge a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit allowing 18.4 acres of wetlands in a state park to be destroyed to make way for a landfill. A lower court held that the group lacked standing and therefore dismissed the case. It...

The U.S. Supreme Court held that the CAA displaces any federal common law right to seek abatement of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil-fuel fired power plants. A group of states, private land trusts, and a city a filed suit against four power companies and the TVA claiming that their e...

A California appellate court held that the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) may add chemicals to California's Proposition 65 list using the methodology set forth in Cal. Health & Safety Code §25249.8(a). Proposition 65 requires the government to publish a list of ch...

The Seventh Circuit denied environmental groups' petitions challenging EPA's approval of revisions to Wisconsin's new source review program. In 2002, EPA changed the rules that determine when polluters need permits in order to modify existing facilities—and, if they need permits, what restrictions...

A district court held that an insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify a dry cleaner for PCE pollution stemming from repeated flooding under the terms of its insurance policy. The policy contained a pollution exclusion clause, and the dry cleaner argued that the exception for sudden and accid...

The First Circuit upheld the dismissal of a developer's federal takings claim against two state agencies for restricting its development of a coastal residential subdivision in Rhode Island. In Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City, 473 U.S. 172 (19...

The Third Circuit reversed a lower court order granting an oil company's application to engage in discovery for use in an environmental class action before an Ecuadorian court under 28 U.S.C. §1782(a). The lower court ruled that the attorney-client privilege asserted by the Ecuadorian plaintif...

The Ninth Circuit held that the CAA does not preempt a local air district's adoption and enforcement of rules regulating air emissions from diesel-powered engines. CAA §209(e) expressly prohibits states from setting "standards or other requirements relating to the control of emissions" from no...

A California appellate court held that a city's revised environmental impact report (EIR) for a proposed development project along an estuary complies with the California Environmental Quality Act. The project would develop approximately 64 acres, converting a maritime and industrial area into ...